Inviting students from 14 East Coast high schools and colleges, the FLOTUS spoke to the students about the importance of fashion education and the impact of the fashion industry.

“When it comes to the fashion industry, so often people think it’s all about catwalks and red carpets and ‘who wore it best,’ and whether some famous person wore the right belt with the right shoes,” said Mrs. Obama.

“Fashion is really about passion and creativity, just like music or dance or poetry,” added the first lady. “For so many people across the country, it is a calling; it is a career.”

Breaking the students into groups for workshop sessions on fashion inspiration, construction, journalism, entrepreneurship, and more, Mrs. Obama also invited leading influencers in the industry to mentor and educate the students on the ins and outs of the business. Some of the fashion notables included Tracy Reese, Jason Wu, Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Wintour, and many more.

Wintour, who introduced the first lady at Wednesday’s event, credited her with changing the perception of fashion in the District of Columbia, while emphasizing the impact style has on society.

“Fashion can be a powerful instrument for social change… It allows us to think about who we are as individuals and as a society.”

To prove her support for student designers, Mrs. Obama donned a sleeveless navy dress at the event designed by New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology student Natalya Koval.